The Week Magazine....Around the country

April 23, 1997

DELHIANA
What was that?

BJP leader Jaswant Singh is hardly the most concise and lucid of speakers. His long-winded, convoluted sentences and his habit of using 50 words where five would do, would try the patience of a saint. Of late even his BJP colleagues have started openly expressing their annoyance with his ways. It all began when he represented the BJP at the crucial all-party meeting on March 12. At the meeting it was decided that while the motion for the recall of Governor Romesh Bhandari would be discussed in the House, other matters related to UP-including the crucial question of extending President's rule for another six months-would be passed by a resolution "without any discussion".

And so it was in the Lok Sabha next day, much to the suprise of a protesting BJP. How could Jaswant Singh, given his party's feelings about Bhandari's rule, have agreed to this? Jaswant Singh insisted that he did not. But others who attended the meeting claim he did.

Many in the BJP are convinced that Jaswant Singh, as is his wont, expressed his objections in such a complicated way, without actually getting to the point, that his opposition was construed as consent.

A spirited foray

As if the BJP did not have enough problems, a fresh one has cropped up in a state where it has lately been making gains: Karnataka.

BJP MLA H.N. Nanje Gowda paid an urgent visit to the capital recently to protest against the auctioning of liquor licences in Uttar Pradesh. Yet while he met the press and the Prime Minister, he avoided contacting his national party leaders, who learnt of his visit only after he had left. Why this strange behaviour?

Apparently, Gowda was in Delhi on behalf of liquor contractors of southern India who had not been informed of the UP auction in time to be able to put in a bid. Hence the attempt to get the auction cancelled or postponed. The BJP has ordered an inquiry into the MLA's unscheduled visit.

The doc is not happy

If ever a budget has been near universally welcomed, it is P. Chidam-baram's 1997 budget. One unexpected critic, however, is Dr Manmohan Singh. The latter has issued statements and given interviews running down the budget on numerous counts. The message he seemed to convey was that while the Congress supported the UF government, there were limits.

In private Congressmen are bewildered by Singh's response, since Chidambaram's budget is largely a reaffirmation of the liberalisation started by Singh. "Is it because Chidambaram has gone even further down the path of liberalisation than you dared to?" a senior Congressman was heard asking Singh.

One good turn

One of the ways English language publishers in India exploit new writers is by securing 'world rights' for their works. Well-known writers who know the ropes only concede Indian or subcontinental rights. Thus new writers are forced to sign away the option of finding themselves other publishers in Britain or America. Often the publishers do not distribute the book outside India at all.

A number of Indo-English writers complain that after their books were published in India they were contacted by foreign agents ready to find publishers for the same book in the west. But having signed away their rights, the authors lost out on publications abroad. Had the same trick been played on Arundhati Roy, she would have remained just another of the numerous young Indian writers.

When she submitted the manuscript of The God of Small Things to Harper Collins, India, she was in no position to dictate terms. If she got the record-breaking advance she did, it was only thanks to Harper-Collins's chief editor at that time, Pankaj Mishra. Mishra, instead of arm-twisting her into signing away 'world rights', contacted his literary friends abroad and got her a literary agent.

The upshot? Roy became the darling of the literary world and Mishra lost his job. His bosses sacked him for depriving them of Roy's 'world rights'. One good turn deserves another. Mishra along with another partner, set up his own publishing firm, IndiaInk. Once her book made waves abroad, Roy-who could have chosen any Indian publisher she wanted on her terms for the Indian edition-chose IndiaInk.

Thus IndiaInk made a big splash with its very first offering. All's well that ends well.

DEBASHISH MUKERJI

MUMBAI MASALA

Border trouble

When film director J.P Dutta invited Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav for the bash of his forthcoming venture Border, he didn't reckon dealing with some real-life tension.

The film is about the 1971 Indo-Pak war and has star-studs like Sunil Shetty, Akshaye Khanna and Sunny Deol. Shooting from the lip, Shatrughan 'shotgun' Sinha regaled guests with his witty asides while the defence minister bored everyone with a long-winded speech on Indo-Pak ties.

To the embarrassment of Dutta and the filmi crowd, Shatru refused to budge when invited to sit on the stage. He was keen on maintaining his line of actual control from ground level rather than share the territory with Mulayam Singh Yadav!

Seems like even a film on patriotism cannot persuade these netas to drop their political differences. Finally he relented but only after much pleading and prayerful hand-folding

A session with Seshan

The man who made nervous wrecks of politicians during elections and emerged as the saviour of the masses seems to be losing some of his goodwill.

His acerbic wit has punctured plenty of bloated egos but this time his ego came in the way of a good cause. At a meeting of his Deshbhakta Trust in Mumbai, attended by 'clean' ex-bureaucrats, ex-judges and veteran Gandhians, T.N. Seshan was his brusque, curt self.

When PUCL's Yogesh Kamdar asked why he had met Bal Thackeray, the 'Gangotri of corruption', Seshan arrogantly dismissed it with a characteristic "none of your business", retort.

Usha Mehta, the respected Gandhian, ticked off Seshan for his answer. After Seshan left the meeting, the members of his Trust passed a unanimous resolution condemning his behaviour. He would certainly call it a breach of trust!

Playback, Lata

It was more like a celebrity wedding. With women preening in heavy Kancheepuram silks, long legs in suave designer suits and atrociously large gold and pearl jewellery adorning smooth necks, you could hardly tell it was a music concert.

The Lata Mangeshkar concert had people waiting for over two hours in queues around the stadium where the nightingale was performing after her 12-year hibernation.

The 'Gansamragi' was brilliant though a trifle tired. And as 'wahs' mingled with 'wows' it seemed as if the generation gap had disappeared.

But there was disappointment too. Lata-fans waiting to hear certain golden numbers felt that the selection of songs could have been better. But that was not to be. Almost all the songs were dictated by the procession of glam dolls of Bollywood.

The inside news is that Lata had her own list of around 50 of her best songs, some of which she sang during the rehearsals. But she had little choice in the final selection.

Apparently Raj Thackeray, who had master-minded the show to fund his Shiv Udyog Sena, persuaded Lata to sing songs from films of the stars who had so kindly deigned to grace the occasion. So, till the last minute the list of songs kept changing, depending on the filmy taras who trickled in.

Poor Lata had to stick to her role of playback singer-playing back Raj sahib's requests!

Rocked Yatra

This year's Rock Yatra-an annual festival of rock music from indigenous rock groups-saw Mumbai's homegrown band Indus Creed facing some jarring moments.

A faulty sound system made the boisterous crowd of rock freaks jeer and hoot at the surprised band, more accustomed to generous applause from the home crowd. This, especially after winning accolades from Channel V. So when paper missiles and plastic bottles zipped on stage, lead singer and band leader Uday Benegal stopped the music. He lost his temper and stomped off the stage with his band.

"Boo, boo! Go home! We want Pentagram," yelled the irate youngsters asking for the latest band in town whose debut album 'Pentagram' showcases the band's tremendous talent.

Pentagram's lead singer is real cool. Known for his informality, he has no hang-ups mixing about freely with the audience. Only when he came on stage and asked the guys to cool down did the jeering turn to cheering.

Indus Creed should realise by now that applause, whistles, bouquets and plastic missiles are part of the celebrity package deal and that audience is always king.

MARIA ABRAHAM

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